Bamboo · Sun Bound Collection · UPF Clothing vs Sunscreen · Dec 12, 2020

Top 10 Benefits Of Bamboo Clothing

Bamboo-based fabrics, which feature viscose from bamboo, are remarkably well-suited for a range of applications, especially sun protection apparel. If you’re new to bamboo apparel and the benefits of bamboo fabrics, here’s a quick guide to the biggest advantages of clothing featuring viscose from bamboo. Of course, if you already own any of our Crescent City or Sun Bound Bamboo UPF shirts, then you know firsthand the many benefits of bamboo clothing. Still, it never hurts to have a refresher on why bamboo clothing is so great!

The Birth of the Cool

As the world awakens to the benefits of bamboo, we’re seeing it used in more and more industries across the globe, from furniture and building materials, to paper products and textiles. The resurgence of bamboo in the textile and fabric industries should come as no surprise given its natural properties. More on this below, so let’s dive in! Continue reading for the top 10 benefits of bamboo clothing:

Short on time? Here's the quick list, with more on each bamboo apparel advantage below!

#1 - Bamboo Fabric is Moisture-wicking & Quick-drying

Bamboo fibers are great at absorbing moisture and pulling it away from the skin for faster evaporation. The practical benefit of this is it keeps you dry, while wicking sweat and water away from your skin. This is just one of the advantages to wearing bamboo clothing for activewear and outdoors.

#2 - Bamboo Clothing is Odor-resistant & Anti-bacterial

Bamboo is naturally antimicrobial and odor-resistant. As a result, your bamboo apparel is more likely to smell fresh longer, and less likely to smell like dirty laundry. Use this to your advantage by relying on bamboo-based clothing when being active and participating in anything that might cause you to break a sweat.

#3 - Bamboo Apparel is Insulating & Thermo-regulating

Another advantage of clothing made with viscose from bamboo is its excellent insulation ability. Bamboo-based apparel is a great lightweight insulating layer that helps regulate body temperature. Practically speaking, this means bamboo clothing is great in any season, keeping you cool in the heat, and warm in the cold.

#4 - Viscose from Bamboo is Extremely Soft

One of the most praised benefits of bamboo clothing is its luxuriously soft feel. This is largely to credit for the increased popularity of bamboo sheets, and also why Rayward Apparel chose to feature viscose from bamboo in both our Crescent City and Sun Bound shirts. In fact, bamboo clothing will rival your softest apparel, which is even more amazing considering that it also offers incredible UV protection. Speaking of which...

#5 - Bamboo Provides Natural UV Protection

Bamboo fibers feature natural UV resistance, and this critical property carries through our processing of the plant into viscose for fiber. For Rayward Apparel, this might be the biggest advantage of bamboo clothing since it allows us to achieve even a UPF 50+ rating with a lighter weight material. As a result, our Sun Bound UPF 50+ bamboo shirts block more than 98% of harmful UV rays. Our Crescent City collection of bamboo shirts, meanwhile, block over 97% of damaging UV rays.

#6 - Bamboo Fabrics are Hypoallergenic for Sensitive Skin

If you suffer from allergies to wool or hemp, you’ll likely find bamboo clothing to be the perfect substitute. It won’t irritate your skin like other natural fibers, and the smoother bamboo fibers are well-suited for sensitive skin.

#7 - Bamboo Clothing is Durable & Resistant to Pilling

With proper care, bamboo apparel will last for years and years, long exceeding the life of standard cotton shirts. In fact, it’s possible for bamboo to hold its shape and strength 3x longer than cotton fabrics. Bamboo's durability makes it well-suited for an active lifestyle outdoors. Additionally, since it’s resistant to pilling, it will also look great longer!

#8 - Bamboo Apparel Requires Low Maintenance

Unlike some “premium” fabrics, bamboo apparel doesn’t demand complicated or inconvenient care instructions. In most cases, simply machine wash in cool water, and tumble dry with low heat. While not required, hang drying is the most environmentally-friendly alternative. It’s also gentler on your bamboo apparel and prevents shrinking. However, there’s no need for you to hand wash, dry clean or use fabric softeners with our bamboo apparel.

#9 - Bamboo Fabric is Sustainable & Environmentally-friendly

Growing and harvesting bamboo for apparel is sustainable and eco-friendly, therefore requiring much less water than alternative plant fibers and relying on little to no chemicals. Technically, bamboo is a woody grass that rarely requires replanting, and you probably already know that it grows extremely fast. As a result, this makes it highly renewable, and its natural pest resistance and antibacterial properties protect bamboo without a dependence upon pesticides.

#10 - Bamboo Fabrics are Biodegradable

Since bamboo clothing is made from a plant-based viscose, it is biodegradable and will decompose. This is a striking contrast to synthetic apparel made with plastics, which is common in activewear. Synthetic petroleum-based fabrics, such polyester and nylon, can take centuries to decompose. As a result, they pile up in landfills and often end up in our water.

The many benefits of bamboo-based fabrics make them ideal for our Crescent City and Sun Bound collections of lightweight, sun protection bamboo shirts. In our Crescent City collection of UV shirts, for example, 67.5% of the fabric content is bamboo viscose. Similarly, nearly half the fabric content in our Sun Bound shirts is viscose from bamboo. The specific blends used in each shirt create each collection’s unique combination of performance, comfort and protection!

To experience the advantages of bamboo clothing for yourself, shop our Crescent City and Sun Bound collections of UPF shirts today, available for both men and women.